[wisb] Milwaukee Lakefront, 4/21/11 - 19 Caspian Terns, waterfowl "odd couples"
- From: "B.G. Sloan" <bgsloan2@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: wisbirdn <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:12:33 -0700 (PDT)
The weather was *almost* beautiful today. :-)
No new BIGBY species, but still some highlights:
* Caspian Tern. Counted 45 yesterday on the Lakeshore State Park (LSP) south
lawn. Today there were 19 terns. A big group of birds flew away minutes before
I got there, so there may have been more earlier.
* Tree Swallows. Many birds, checking out every nest box in LSP. Love their
twittering sounds and vibrant colors in the sunshine.
* Eastern Bluebird. Singing behind the art museum. First time I've had a
bluebird there.
* A couple of waterfowl "odd couples". Whitey the Mallard was hanging out with
a female Red-breasted Merganser behind the art museum. And a Horned Grebe was
attentively following another female Red-breasted Merganser about 100 feet to
the north.
* Red-breasted Merganser numbers were down significantly from yesterday. I
counted 100+ birds yesterday. Just a half dozen today.
* Horned Grebe numbers were up a bit from yesterday. 10-12 birds yesterday, 20+
today.
* Seems to be a Mallard shortage on the lakefront. I counted five today
(including Whitey). This winter there were hundreds. Maybe they disperse inland
in the spring, looking for better nesting sites?
* North Point (north of Bradford Beach) was as dead as I've ever seen it. Three
female Buffleheads and a couple of Ring-billed Gulls.
Bernie Sloan
Milwaukee
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